Karl Schmidt, the father of the current Managing Director, founded 1939, the company Karl Schmidt precision aircraft parts beginning with 5 employees. The family business grew into a global company with 7 manufacturing sectors, a 50-strong staff development department at the central location Merbelsrod and foreign locations in Brazil, China and the U.S..

In November 2009 the shareholder Managing Director Dr. Eugen Schmidt, received the honour prize as the Thuringian Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 for his lifetime achievements from The German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses .